Observatory – Steve Weingart & Renee Jones

With the release of Observatory, their second album in as many years, the husband and wife duo of keyboardist and pianist, Steve Weingart and bassist, Renee Jones continue to celebrate and redefine the music that has inspired them throughout their careers. Tapping into the influence of music legends like Joe Zawinul & Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter, Weingart & Jones have dramatically thrust the genre in new directions by expressing a potent mixture of compositional risk, a refined sonic palette and superb musical craftsmanship.

“I wanted to do something a little bit different. I wanted to bring about something new and I wanted to grow in such a way that was deeper harmonically and compositionally,” says Weingart of the new album. Jones adds, “People who know us and know the kind of music we love to play, know that we are heavily influenced by Weather Report and a lot of jazz and instrumental groups from the 70′s. There’s something very special about that music for us. There’s something special about that time period for us and we were hoping to capture that with Observatory.”

The opening track, Twenty Twelve, serves notice with a powerful, funky groove that sets the scene, forecasting an expansive vibrating palette in a deliberate move by Weingart to create a sonic story arc. “I started to study the music of Wayne Shorter, and a lot of it isn’t typical form — it’s not symmetrical in that sense. It’s more of a story telling gradient. I wanted to bring that out in the composing.”

Weingart andJonesgrewupinDayton,Ohiowheretheymetinhighschooland first playedtogethermusicallyassoloists—pianoand oboe,respectively—duringa schoolperformanceofEdvardGreig’sConcertoinAMinor.Weingartcontinuedto studymusiconafullscholarshiptoTheCollegeConservatory ofMusicinCincinnati. Shortly thereafter, Weingart made the move to Los Angeles where he met established musicians and began collaborating and touring with drummer DaveWeckl,co-­‐writingandperformingnumeroussongsonWeckl’sstudioalbums Transition, Perpetual Motion and Multiplicity in addition to performing live on LiveandVeryPluggedIn.

Observatoryis co-­‐produced by Weingart and Phillips, building upon a collaborative relationshipthatbeganwiththeir2011release,Dialogue.“Wehavea specialrelationship withSimon.Wehavesomebodywhowefeelisabrilliant musician and has a great sense about the kind of music that Steve and I are interestedin,”saysJones.